What Are Notary Stamps?
Notary stamps are rectangular or circular stamps that include the notary’s name and state, as well as their commission number and expiration dates. These stamps are used to minimize fraud in legal documents by attesting to the authenticity of signatures.
Why Is a Notary Stamp Used and When?
In Florida, any notarized document requires a notary stamp. This includes documents such as designating beneficiaries in a life insurance policy or death benefit policy, ownership of a vehicle, handgun permits, or notice of lien. Notary stamps are used to show that everything within the document is correct, the client showed proper identification, and the notary acted as a witness to the signing.
What Can a Florida Notary Do?
Below are some of the actions that a notary in Florida can do:
- Act as a notary throughout the state of Florida.
- Perform a marriage ceremony for any individuals who have a valid Florida marriage license. Additionally, notaries can charge up to $30 for performing a marriage ceremony.
- Notarize documents from another state or country, including foreign documents.
- Supervise someone making a photocopy of an original document and attest to its trueness.
- Act as both a witness and a notary for the same document. Notaries may also charge $10 per signature on a document.
What a Florida Notary Can’t Do
While there are many things that a notary is able to do, there are also tasks that they are prevented from completing.
- A Florida notary cannot notarize a document outside the state of Florida. All documents must be notarized within the state.
- They cannot notarize documents that have blank spaces.
- All document signers must personally appear before the notary at the time of notarization. If signers do not appear, the document cannot be notarized.
- Documents that require two signatures cannot be notarized without the notary stipulating which signature is being notarized.
- Notaries cannot antedate or postdate any acknowledgments within a document.
- If the signer is the notary public’s parent, child, or spouse, they cannot notarize the document.
- If the notary has a financial interest or is included in the underlying document, it needs to be notarized by a different notary.
- Public notaries cannot notarize their own signature.
- Florida commissions cannot be transferred to another state. Should an individual want to become a notary outside of the state of Florida, they must comply with that state’s laws and regulations regarding public notaries.
How Do I Get a Notary Stamp in Florida?
Most stamps can be purchased from various suppliers throughout Florida, such as the Florida Notary Association. Our notary stamps are rectangular in shape, contain your name, commission number, commission expiration, and have “Notary Public” and “State of Florida” included in the text. You can also purchase black ink, per the state requirement.
When you pick out your notary stamps, you can also check out all the other products available from The Dotted Line.
How Long Are Notary Stamps Good for in Florida?
Once you become a Florida notary, your commission and your stamp will be valid for four years. After this, you’ll need to renew it.
What if I Lose My Notary Stamp?
Any stamps that are lost or stolen should be reported to the Department of State in writing.
How Do I Get a Replacement Stamp?
Should you need to order a replacement notary stamp, contact the Florida Notary Association. We’ll get a replacement stamp to you as soon as possible for an affordable fee. You’ll want to keep a record that you replaced your notary stamp and when you began using a new one.